NICHOLASVILLE, Ky. (LEX 18) — A grand jury in Jessamine County has decided not to indict any officers in the police shooting that killed Desman LaDuke on Oct. 22, 2022, according to a grand jury report.
LaDuke, 22, was having a mental health crisis when police responded to his home on the day of the shooting, his family said. He was killed by police after a two-hour standoff.
According to a grand jury report released Thursday, a Kentucky State Police sergeant presented evidence to the grand jury about the Nicholasville Police Department officer-involved shooting. The grand jury then voted and decided not to return an indictment.
Nicholasville police said last year that LaDuke was fatally shot by Officer Joseph Horton after LaDuke pointed two guns at officers.
LaDuke’s family questioned how the situation was handled. They had called police because LaDuke was having thoughts of suicide.
“Desman needed help,” the family said in a statement last year. “He did not harm anyone. He was alone in his home. Nine rifles being pointed at his doors and windows by officers in tactical gear did not do anything to defuse what was an obvious mental health crisis. A tactical kill shot through a window and into Desman's chest was not the solution."
Since grand jury hearings are always private, we don't know what evidence was presented to the grand jury or whether any body camera video was shown.
Last year, the Nicholasville Police Department told LEX 18 that some officers with the department are issued body cameras. They did not specify how many on scene at the time of the shooting were wearing them or where they were when the shot was fired.
